Diary of an Arcade Employee

Thundercats

You might remember Zim Animation from the post I shared on Halloween two years ago. It was a 3D computer rendered version of the intro to the classic Real Ghostbusters cartoon. But that wasn’t the only bit of awesome retro inspired 3D work that Zim Animation has produced.

Why back in 2014 he in fact delivered the 3D intro to the 19802 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!

It appears that Zim Animation though is more than willing to keep bringing us 3D versions of popular animated series. To prove this the Vancouver, Canada based animation team have put together this short teaser. With the idea in mind that they will eventually include short clips – mashed together with various classic characters. Like the Thundercats, Masters of the Universe, and Batman.

One can hope that in addition we might see some of the Transformers included as well! Furthermore is it too far a stretch to believe that G.I. Joe might make up the roster of retro cartoons to make the cut?

Without further ado here is Zim Animation’s 3D Remake Mashup!

With what we could see in that teaser – I assume this new project will look like someone is flipping channels. If you want to help support Zim Animation in this new project, you can totally visit their Patreon Page. Moreover make sure to check out the awesome rewards for pledging your support to this endeavor. Reward such as first looks at the work in progress and communication with the animators as well!

The Thundercats were a big BIG part of my childhood, and one of the reasons for that was thanks to my replica Sword of Omens, like the one you see above. In July ’88 I remember unwrapping my sword-shaped birthday present and being the happiest boy alive. Immediately I thrust it into the air and shouted “Thunder. Thunder. Thundercats. Hooooooooo!”. Alas, nothing much happened, except for the bemused look from my parents. But it didn’t matter, because I knew what this sword was capable of, and it had a light-up Eye – you didn’t get one of those on He-Man’s Power Sword!

I think I wanted every Thundercat item in the Argos catalogue that year but I was restricted to the Sword and a basic Lion-O figure. No “Hovercat” or “Thunderclaw” for me. I was fine with that though, the Sword went EVERYWHERE With me that summer, and there were numerous battery changes to keep the Eye glowing. As with most of my toys of that era, I’ve no idea what happened to them once I had moved on to the next big thing – I like to think that they were passed to the next generation to carry on the eternal fight against Mumm-Ra.

I discovered this rather nice piece from artist Khobra whilst browsing around Tumblr and I don’t really know what to make of it. I’m a big Thundercats fan but never really found a place in my heart for Voltron. This mashup gives me reason to re-think that previous judgement though!

What do you think? Would these two classic 80’s shows have worked in this format?

Do you think you know evil? Artist Tom Krohne does! He knows it so well that he’s put together some wonderful art of the very best (!) that evil has to offer. Featured here are some of my favourites – The Foot Clan above, Mumm-Ra and the Evil of Third Earth below and the Minions of Skeletor below that.

Head on over to Tom’s Etsy shopfront to see more of the series including The Kaiju Forces of Good, the Evil Horde, The Snake Men of Eternia and The Least Likely Suspects featuring more obscure characters such as Cy-Kill, Murky Gloom and Miles Mayhem!

Have you ever wondered how much it might cost you to buy iconic 80’s animated real estate? No? No, me either, but the people over at Movoto have, and they’ve put together a wonderful infographic to explain how they came to a figure of $8.6 Million for the home of the Thundercats!

I’ve embedded the infographic below but I’d recommend you also take a look at the blog post that gives a lot more detail about how the figures were put together. Following links within that post will take you to similar posts about Castle Grayskull and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Sewer Lair too!